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Saturday, March 24, 2012

Orcs Hit Las Vegas: Game 4 Tournament Report

Games 1-3 precede this report, feel free to check them out if you haven't yet.

So I lost my neutral footing in the last game and am now at 1 & 2. Next up to face is Nurgle.
I figured this should be fun, win or lose, since I've never had a chance to play against Nurgle before.
I'd been thinking recently of making a Nurgle team, I've thought of a different theme and some minis that would work nicely.. but that's hush-hush until I do it ;) So I looked forward to seeing how they play.

For those who don't follow Blood Bowl so closely, Nurgle is a team that is a lot like Chaos, but with very significant differences. The Nurgle Warriors are just as strong as other Chaos Warriors, but not as fast or agile (more like Black Orcs) but they get regeneration (heal injury on a 4+) and before you can block them you must roll a die, if you roll a 1 your player is too grossed out to hit them. They have beastmen too, but less of them, but cheap 'rotter' linemen that do the job fine. The Big Guy is a nasty creature with tentacles, that grapples players in place, making it hard for them to get away, and has the same attributes as the Nurgle Warriors.

So once Nurgle got done auditioning for a local job, we were ready to play:

Game 4: Bronze Boars vrs. Hambnurglers (Nurgle)

The Nurgle team had 2 warriors with Block and 2 with Guard. There was at least one Beastman with Surehands I believe. In pre-game he won the +1 fame (breaking the 3 game tie) and won the coin toss and chose to kick to me.

He kicked and then drove hard at me. He blitzed my ball carrier and a Rotter got the ball.

I blitzed him right back and got the ball back, hand off to a Blitzer, forgot the -1 to such actions because of the zone of nasty flies Nurgle creatures make, but made the hand-off with a reroll.

I didn't get to keep the ball for long though, with horns a beastman is strength 4 on a blitz and he charged my ball-carrying blitzer and injured him, out for the game, and recovered the ball with a Rotter.

Looking to be a real slug-fest. get it ? (cue rim shot).

Turn 4 I do a 1 die block on that rotter: Skull: re-roll: Skull. I'm telling you, no one can hit those 1 in 36 chances like I can. It's like my super-power. Even that boy in the Wonder Twins is laughing at me.

Next turn though I injure a Nurgle Warrior, and kill him! Oh! That'll even things up! But not so fast... regeneration? Yes. he's fine. He takes the bench. Not to be outdone, another Black Orc kills another Nurgle Warrior! Yes! but just like his buddy, that Nurglebloke regenerates as well. Good luck for him, not so much for me- those deaths could have made a big difference. I notice I have broke my curse on not being able to break armor, which is great, but that Regen is nullifying it. Regen is such a good skill in a tournament setting.

I then Blitz the Ball-carrying rotter and injure him!

But in trying to get to the ball my rising star Baba O'Riled Up dodges to get to the ball, trips and injures himself, out for the game. All the Orc fans gasp and the Goblins laugh their fool heads off.

The Half ends 0-0 with 9 on the field for me, some very good players injured, but my thrower came back. and only 8 on the field for him, with a beastman knocked out, but other than him all his quality players are on the field.

I now set up to kick to him, no score, but the advantage is now his with the ball in his possession.

Yes, I set up with a goblin on the line. It's not such a bad option really, the dodge balances out the lack of strength. and my team is thinned, so I need to keep some good players back to try to stop him from scoring.

Unfortunately, Boris da Spider looked like a tasty goblin to the slug, and he ate him. R.I.P. Boris.

I sandwiched the ball on the sidelines, trying to stop it from squeezing through. On the line, he stunned my troll and a brawl breaks out.

The Blitzer Happy Jack injures his Zelvis, but his beastman gets the ball and takes it down close to scoring.

Pinball Wizard there looks clear to try to stop him, but then he got marked by another, and in trying to dodge out to get that goat, he failed the dodge, failed the reroll and falls. The goat scores and on Turn 6 it is 0-1.

I set up to receive, now just battling for the tie.

I set up for the Goblin throw play, since I'm down a lot of players and he's still got his good players.

Turn 7. Seeker gets the ball. Runs to the Goblin, Squeeze Box. Hand-off the ball, Squeeze Box takes it, The Ox, showing that not all Trolls are stupid, realizes what's going on, doesn't feel so hungry he's willing to fuss with goblin bones, grabs Squeeze Box and flings him down the field. This could be it!

The Goblin arcs through the air, but the throw is high, the lightweight goblin tumbles in the wind, is blown back, back and to the left, back more and to the left. He lands fine, but within reach of the slug! He tries to get away, but the sticky tentacles has him firm! If only he'd landed where he was supposed to, or a favorable deviation he'd have run it in to tie it up. But 3 wrong deviations planted him where there was no chance.
For those mathematically inclined, there is only a bit more than 5% chance for 3 back deviations, and less to get them to where they'd place him in range of the slug. Happy Birthday Slug! ;)

Next turn the Slug makes his second meal of Goblin this day:

Game Ends in a Loss for the Bronze Boars: 0-1.

Nurgle looks like a very interesting team to play. All of the denial skills can really have an impact.

In the 'what-if' league, MVP went to The Ox, and rolling for his skill he got double 1's! A doubles? Block please! I knew rolling all those 1's would work out eventually!

A bad spot of luck....I played against Nurlge in my league twice, I beat him the first time but the dice was on fire...the second, the dice was lukewarm and hardly did diddle the game...

The team has some serious defense values the scoring ability is a bit weak. The guy that I played bought the team from that French company (forget their name) that makes Blood Bowl teams (but does not call them so...) some other off brand name.